Mas, Ubud

Leaf Me Alone in Bali

On our first visit to Bali in 1988, our soon-to-be-fast-friends Azman and Caroline took us to the studio of mask-making genius Ida Bagus Anom [http://bit.ly/H8tOmN]. We were instantly enthralled by the expressiveness of the faces he carved and painted in both his traditional and his modern masks. These are the eyes of one of his singular "leaf " design masks. Today, Anom, 60 years old, still lives and works in the compound in Mas (outside of Ubud) where he learned the carving, dancing, and puppetry arts from his father, Ida Bagus Gelodog, and where his family has lived for more than 700 years.